Eiffel Scholarships 2012 Master’s and PhD Courses for International Students

Summary
The EIFFEL Excellence Scholarship Programme is funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It aims at attracting outstanding International students identified by French institutions of higher education.Level: MS/PhD DegreeStudy in: FranceBenefit: €1,181 for Master’s courses – €1,400 for PhD coursesNumber of Awards: Not specifiedApplication: OnlineDuration: up to 36 months (master’s courses), up to 10 months (phd courses)Application Deadline: 6 Jan 2012Announcement of results: Week of March 19th, 2012

Description
The French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs launched the Eiffel excellence scholarship programme in January 1999 to support French centres of higher education in their international outreach initiatives, in a context of mounting competition among developed countries, to attract elite overseas students on master’s, engineering and PhD courses.

The Eiffel programme does not cover tuition fees, though the higher education centres concerned are invited to apply the best possible financial conditions to Eiffel scholarship-holders. Enrolment fees at state-run higher education centres are waived for students on French government scholarship programmes such as this.

Eiffel scholarship-holders on Master’s courses receive an allowance of €1,181. In addition, the programme meets various expenses including return trip, health insurance and cultural activities. Scholarship-holders might also be eligible for additional accommodation allowance.

Eiffel scholarship-holders on PhD courses receive an allowance of €1,400. In addition, the programme meets various expenses including return travel (single return trip for law and political science students on multiple stays), health insurance and cultural activities. Scholarship-holders might also be eligible for additional accommodation allowance.

Master’s course :

The Eiffel scholarship is granted to cover a set number of months in order to help prepare and pass the diploma, provided students have met the academic obligations for each academic year.

Excluding language training, where applicable, the scholarship runs for up to 12 months for a master’s 2 course, up to 24 months for a master’s 1 course and up to 36 months for an engineering diploma course.

A preliminary language training course of two month maximum duration can be paid for non French- speaking students at the request of the French host training institution in order to allow them to adjust to the training course in the best conditions. Students will receive their Eiffel allowances during this period.

The centre submitting the application must clearly state the overall programme duration, including any compulsory practical components in France or elsewhere. The optional trainings are not supported.

PhD course :

Eiffel scholarships are granted for a period of up to ten months.

Language instruction simultaneous with the main course may be available for the disciplines of law and political science, on request from the French host centre. It is not available for science and economics courses.

Split courses: If approved by the selection commission, law and political science students may split the ten months into a maximum of three sessions lasting three to four months, over a maximum of three years, with students returning to their countries of origin between sessions. Only one round trip will be supported.

Centres are invited to inform Égide immediately of any event liable to delay graduation.